


The Unicorn's Curse

by Youngforever143123



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 07:12:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18205190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Youngforever143123/pseuds/Youngforever143123
Summary: After he curses himself with a human body, Lay is taken by unicorn hunters to be sold for his magic. When he starts to lose hope of ever seeing his home again, a young human man seems to become his savior.





	The Unicorn's Curse

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted on Asianfanfics

The unicorn smiles as he watches the wild animals of the forest graze in the clearing. They felt safe so long as he watched over them. He would always protect them: as one of the most powerful beings in the universe, it was his sworn duty.  
A white fawn comes up to him and nuzzles into his side. He smiles at it and curls his body so they fit together. The fawn coos and a bird comes to land on the unicorn’s head. He sneezes from the feathers tickling his nose, then freezes. A human was approaching. He stands up and yells for the forest creatures to scatter.  
Humans rarely, if ever, brought anything but pain and death and sorrow. They were the only creatures he never tried to protect or bring near him. They were the only creatures who could kill him. Hundreds of years ago, another unicorn had entered his forest. She had encountered humans, and they took her, beat her, and cut off her horn. She was humiliated, and her heart was broken. Her tears made a stream in the forest; the very stream that bordered the clearing he sat in now. He listens carefully, rising to his feet. He tenses as the human gets closer. He jumps when a human girl comes crashing through the foliage and trips, falling on her face. He gulps and goes to move away. He needed to get away, far away from that human. But he can’t bring himself to run.  
When the human girl sobs and curls into a ball, he creeps over to her. He nuzzles her hair with his nose and she looks at him. Her eyebrow dripped with red, and colors decorated her face. Her eyes are wide and filled with tears of fear. Ever so gently, he touches the crown of her head with his horn, resulting in her wounds healing. The blood dries up and crusts. He nudges her up with his nose and brings her over to the stream, so he can wash away the blood.  
“Do not be afraid,” he says in her head. “I am not a man. I am a unicorn; I will not hurt you. I cannot hurt you. I do not hurt any creature.”  
“You might have to one day,” the girl whispers. “Men are not safe. They think they own the world and everything in it.” With those words, she gets up on shaky legs and touches his horn. “You must never allow men to see you,” she warns, pressing her forehead to his. “The king and his wizard hunt and capture those like you and offer a reward for their locations. A woman might keep the information to herself, but a man never will.” He nuzzles her with his nose.  
“Stay here,” he says to her. “If men are as horrible as you say they are, then you should not go back to them.”  
“Oh, unicorn,” she whispers. “If I stay, I will put you in danger. I am a runaway slave; my master has already sent a search party out for me. They will find me if I do not continue on, and they will find you.”  
With those words, she lets go of him and takes a step back before bowing. He bows back, then comes over and touches her hand with his horn.  
“The path will clear for you as long as you are in the forest,” he tells her. “None of the creatures here will harm you.”  
“Thank you,” she says, bowing again. She then leaves, disappearing into the green of the forest. Minutes after she disappears, he hears new riders approaching. They were riding on horses and going much faster than she could. He trots over to the foliage and taps it with his horn. All around the clearing, it grows tall, and he jumps over it. The forest becomes dense and dark, and he hurries back to his home. All the creatures were hiding now, some of them had even entered the cave where he slept so they could feel safe.  
He lies down and sleeps with them. The cave conceals itself. But soon, a mournful bark wakes him up. Had a fox been stranded outside? Did a wolf lose his pack?  
He opens the foliage a bit so he can peer out and freezes. There were humans camping right outside his cave. They were talking and joking loudly. They had built a fire, and a fawn’s body was roasting over it. A skinny boy was doing something with a white pelt. It was the white fawn he had cuddled with earlier.  
His eyes fill with tears, and he whinnies softly. The men stop talking and he slips back into the safety of his cave. A dog starts barking furiously, but he can’t bring himself to care. He had failed his duty to protect the creatures in his forest. The men had killed his charge. He lies back down and buried his nose in his front legs. He looks up again when a hacking sound fills the cave. The men were trying to get in.  
“We have to go,” he tells the forest creatures with him. He uses his magic to make another opening in the wall so they could all escape. He takes them to a new hiding place, then lies down again. The forest creatures lie with him, and they all mourn the loss of their child.  
Years pass before the unicorn sees another human in his forest. It is another girl, crying in the clearing. He goes near her, to comfort her when he sees the ropes on her hand and ankles. Before he can react, an arrow wedges into his side. He shrieks, warning all the forest to hide. Another arrow buries itself in his flank, and he falls to the ground. He is surrounded by human men in mere moments. They rip the arrows from his flesh and lick off his blood as they begin to tie him down. Thick ropes dig into his soft flesh and keep him from moving as a man approaches him with a long, serrated knife. He orders his fellow men to hold the unicorn’s head still, and he presses it to the unicorn’s horn.  
The unicorn, out of fear, turns into the only creature he knows will not bear his horn. The ropes become slack around his smaller body, and his horn shrinks into nothing. His hair thins and his bones shift painfully. His face becomes smaller, and a tuft of black hair sprouts from his head and covers one of his eyes. He shivers when his new form is completely formed; he had no natural coat to shield him from the cold night air. There is a murmur of surprised voices and the men who had been holding the unicorn back away in fear.  
“I didn’t know a unicorn could do that,” one of the men states.  
“They don’t usually,” another mutters. “It really must be afraid.”  
Cautiously, the unicorn looks around, and his eyes land on the man who held the knife. His face was full of fury, and within seconds, the knife comes down and slashes the unicorn’s bare cheek. The unicorn cries out, bringing a trembling hand to the bleeding flesh. The blue star on his forehead glows white, and his flesh mends itself. The pain is still there though, and no matter what he does, it doesn’t go away.  
“You stupid animal,” the man with the knife growls. “You just cost me a fortune.”  
“Sir, we could sell it to the palace instead of that apothecary,” one suggests. “The palace would give us a lot more money anyway, especially since it’s still alive.”  
“The palace won’t believe this,” the knifeman gestures to the unicorn, “is a unicorn.”  
“It just healed his cheek. It could do that again, I’m sure,” another reassures. The man with the knife seems to think about this, then he nods.  
“Tie it up so that even if it wanted to, it can’t change back into its normal form,” knife man orders. “Leave the cage. It’ll ride with me.”  
“Look at it,” one man jeers as the unicorn shies away from him and whines a bit. “It misses its mommy.”  
“Stop teasing it and tie it up,” a different one demands. The unicorn whimpers and tries to run. But his legs are as weak as a newborns. He falls immediately and the men surround him. The unicorn’s wrists are bound with the same thick, rough ropes from before, only this time they dig into his soft flesh without hindrance. The men poke fun at him, saying his skin was as fragile as a baby’s. When they pull him up, and his new legs don’t support him, they laugh and mock him even more. Tears of fear and hurt fill his eyes, but he refuses to let them fall. He is weak in this form; far weaker than he had ever been before.  
The men grope him as they take him over to the knife man’s horse, touching him in places he didn’t know he didn’t want touched. When he is lifted on, knife man pulls a bag over his head. It made it hard to breathe, and he gasps in shock at the loss of his sight. When the horse takes off, he whimpers and curls in on himself. He hated this body. He hated how weak he felt. He hated…  
He whines again, this time in misery. The human body was already changing his mind. All creatures were beautiful, even humans. It was their personalities that were ugly. If he kept his thoughts pure, he could not be compared to them, even though he had assumed their form.  
They ride for hours, until the unicorn can no longer feel his new legs. The unicorn falls asleep after this happens, and wakes up when he feels himself being pulled off the horse. The horse rubs its muzzle on the unicorn’s arm before the unicorn is dragged away. He can’t hear very well, nor can his legs support him. He is half dragged, half carried. The dirt beneath him becomes hard, almost like a stone, but smoother.  
He is suddenly surrounded by buzzing voices, and hands touch his body. He whimpers and squirms, but someone smacks him hard on the side of his head. After a few more moments, the bag is ripped off and the lights blind him.  
“He’s a human boy,” someone says.  
“He’s a unicorn, he’s just in the form of a human,” knife guy protests. “Go get the wizard. He’ll be able to tell.”  
“Stop wasting my time,” the person responds. “The palace isn’t looking for slaves right now.”  
Knifeman forces the unicorn’s head up and, without hesitation, slices straight down. The unicorn cries out in pain and turns his head away, but the knife man grabs his chin and forces it so it faced the strange man. His forehead glows white as his cheek heals.  
“He’s a unicorn.”  
The strange man disappears and the unicorn hangs his head. Another man comes out with the strange man from before. But the new man gave off waves of dark magic, and the unicorn wants nothing to do with him. But he is forced to go near him, and the man puts a hand on the unicorn’s head. The unicorn whines and tries to get away. The dark magic man smirks and lifts the unicorn’s hair, revealing the pale blue star in the middle of his forehead.  
“Take him to the stables and reinforce one of the stalls with a lock and a full ceiling. Then sharpen the scythe. I’ll tell the chef that we’re having heart stew for dinner.”  
The unicorn’s eyes widen and he looks up. The dark magic man was smirking, then touches the unicorn’s face.  
“Don’t worry, my darling,” the man says, his voice dripping with false kindness. “It’s not your heart that’s on the menu.” The man tilts his head. “I’m going to call you Lay. I have a feeling you’ll be ‘laying’ around a lot. You may call me Master Kim.”  
The unicorn, now Lay, doesn’t answer as the strange man grabs his arm and takes him away. He is tossed into a stall with his arms still bound tightly to his body. He hits his head hard on the ground, and all the horses around him whinny and shriek. They knew he wasn’t a human.  
“Get in there you stupid boy,” someone shouts outside of the stall, and the door is opened again. A skinny boy is shoved in with a knife and a large pitchfork.  
“Stupid superiors,” the boy mutters. He then comes over to Lay and draws the knife. Lay cringes away and curls his shoulders in so he could protect his chest. But the boy only cuts away the ropes that bound him.  
“Relax, I ain’t gon hurt ya,” the boy says. “Name’s Luhan. I was told you were called Lay?”  
Lay doesn’t answer. He doesn’t know how. He can understand them easily, but learning to form different words with the heavy tongue and new voice would take time. Luhan shrugs and starts cleaning horse dung from the stall. Lay curls into the corner, still biting back tears. A whinny catches his attention though, and he looks up. Luhan was looking out a window with a reserved look on his face. Lay’s stomach churns when sees that look, and he struggles to get on his feet. His legs were as unsteady as a newborn foal, but somehow, he manages to take small steps towards the window. Luhan notices immediately.  
“Stay there,” Luhan orders, holding up a hand. “You ain’t be needin’ to see this.”  
Lay shakes his head and continues to move forward. Luhan doesn’t stop him, and he makes it to the window. A scream rips from his throat as he watches a frail unicorn forced to her knees as Master Kim raises a curved blade. He looks up and smirks as he drives the blade into her throat, and slices through her trachea. Lay screams again, his legs failing and his eyes finally releasing the dam they had built up over the day. He chokes and sobs as he falls to the floor, snot dripping from his nose and saliva dripping from his mouth. The tears falling from his eyes drip mix with them on his chin, resulting in a disgusting mess on his chin and neck.  
His stomach tightens and he vomits into the hay. He sobs again as he hears a loud squelching from just outside the window. Luhan doesn’t bother to help him. He allows Lay to mourn.  
Lay’s sobs fade after a while, becoming occasional sniffles. The stable is completely silent; the horses understood what had just happened. Footsteps disturb that silence though, and Lay tenses and scooches back into the corner. Master Kim enters the stall, a young girl by his side. She was holding a tray with a cup of water and a steaming bowl on it, while Master Kim was holding what seemed to be a set of clothes.  
“Minji, hold these while I feed our guest,” he orders. The girl sets the tray on the floor and then takes the clothing and goes outside the stall door. Master Kim smirks and picks up the bowl. “Are you hungry, Lay?”  
Lay shakes his head while Master Kim approaches, swagger in his steps. He kneels down next to Lay and offers the bowl. Little pieces of meat were floating in it, and Lay turns away.  
“You need to keep your strength up, little Lay. You are so very skinny.” Lay shakes his head. “This soup is good for you. Do you want to know what kind?” Lay shakes his head, his stomach churning in fear. “It’s heart stew. Unicorn heart stew.”  
With those words, Master Kim grabs Lay by the hair and yanks his head back. Lay whimpers through a clenched mouth as Master Kim pins him with one leg and grabs Lay’s jaw with his free hand.  
“Don’t be so difficult, my darling,” the man says. “Open your mouth and this will be over quickly.”  
Lay shakes his head and tries to punch at the man. But suddenly, his limbs won’t move. Dark purple tendrils wrap around his body. Lay tries to use his magic to counter it, but he is too weak. The purple tendrils pry his mouth open and open his throat. Master Kim then pours the stew into Lay’s mouth. The magic forces him to swallow. Every last drop goes into the pits of Lay’s stomach. The magic forces Lay to keep it down and to keep still as Master Kim forces the water down his throat, then sends Minji in to dress Lay. Master Kim leaves while she does. When he’s gone, she touches Lay’s forehead, brushing the hair out of the way.  
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, her voice cracking. “I’m so sorry this has happened to you.”  
She gets him dressed without another word and then leaves. As soon as she’s gone, the dark magic releases Lay, and he throws up. His body is trembling furiously, and he throws up again. He had never been sick before, but he felt sick now. He sobs until he has no voice left to sob with. He cries until his eyes are swollen shut. Until his mouth is dry until his body can no longer hold him up. He passes out on the floor, among his own vomit.  
Luhan is the one to wake Lay up the next morning.  
“Oh gods, yous lookin’ awful,” Luhan comments, then tilts Lay’s head to the side and scrunches his nose up. “You have a buncha shit from when ya hurled in ya hair.”  
Lay just blinks at him tiredly. Did Luhan really think he cared? He’s had young animals lose their bladders while laying with him before, and they’ve thrown up on him before as well. It didn’t bother him. What bothered him was the fact that the meat chunks in the vomit were unicorn. How sick could someone be to not only kill a unicorn but to eat them? How sick could someone be to do that to any other living creature?  
“Be right back.” Luhan hurries out of the stall and closes it behind him. He comes back in a few moments later hauling a bucket full of water and a rag. First, he dips the rag into the water and cleans off Lay’s hair. Then, he wipes Lay’s face and hands down.  
“Drink this,” Luhan orders, pushing the bucket towards Lay. Lay tenses immediately and Luhan’s face softens. “Don’t worry, it’s just watta. I ain't the wizard.”  
Luhan leaves the water there and leaves Lay alone in the stall. After a while, Lay scooches himself over to the water and swirls a finger in it, using his magic to clear away any impurities it might have. He then dips his hands in and scoops some of it up to his mouth. It tastes good going down his dry throat. He can feel his body healing as it regains some of his energy. Luhan comes back in later, holding a few carrots.  
“These are suppos’d to be for the horses, but I kept some. The wizard won’t be feedin ya ‘gain til ya too weak to move,” Luhan informs, handing Lay the orange sticks in his hands. Lay takes them and munches on them.  
“The last unicorn that was kept here ain’t never looked like a human,” Luhan continues to say, sitting down in the corner. “I didn’t know unicorns could do somethin’ that.”  
Lay glances at him. Humans knew so little about unicorns, so it didn’t surprise him that Luhan didn’t know that unicorns could shapeshift in times of need. But he doesn’t answer the boy; Luhan, no matter how nice he was, was still a human. And he had learned very clearly that he could never trust a human, no matter whether they were nice or mean, crying or smiling, a man or woman, boy or girl.  
“Do ya even know how to talk?” Luhan questions. Lay ignores him and continues to munch on the carrot sticks. He eats them more quickly now though. Just in case Luhan got annoyed and took them away. He needed as much energy as he could get; he didn’t know what the future could hold. Luhan sighs. “I guess not.” Luhan gets up and stretches then. “I can’t always be saving yous food, but I’ll put extra oats with Minnie. If yous strong enough, go for ‘em. Dry oats is still food. You’ll be needin’ it for what the wizard has in store for yous.”  
“Luhan, I swears if you in wit that fuckin unicorn again imma gon make sure you get beat till you can’t fuckin walk,” someone shouts, and Luhan immediately stiffens. Lay stares. Luhan looked genuinely terrified, and Lay can see his Adam's apple bob harshly.  
“Wizard told me to make sure he was still alive after his freak out!” Luhan calls. Someone charges in, and Lay’s jaw drops at how big the newcomer was. He was at least two times the size of Luhan. He backs Luhan into the stall wall.  
“Thasa funny, ‘cuz wizard told me to keep yous out,” the man states, then punches Luhan in the stomach. Luhan groans and doubles over in pain. The man laughs at Luhan, then grabs Luhan by the hair.  
“Dongwoon,” the man calls, dragging Luhan out. Luhan gives Lay a small smile, but Lay can see the fearful look in his eye. “Get the whip! Luhan’s needs a beatin’!”  
Lay stumbles up and goes over to the bars that separated him from the stables and watches as Luhan’s arms are tied with long ropes to either side of the stable. He can see Luhan trembling as his shirt is torn off and thrown to the side of the stalls. Lay tilts his head. Luhan’s back was covered in thick, pale scars. Several marks hadn’t healed yet; they were still scabbed over or a shiny pink.  
The man that hit Luhan and another human unfurl a slightly thick rope and snap it a few times. Then, they snap it again, only this time it leaves a bright red mark on Luhan’s pale, scarred skin. Luhan’s entire body jerks and the men crack it on Luhan’s back again. Lay watches as they continue to do it, his horror rising. He slides down the wall, tears filling his eyes again. Luhan was being abused for helping him. Lay didn’t think humans could get any crueler. But they were beating one of their own for showing kindness.  
When Lay met the Mother after he was killed, he would make sure Luhan was not turned away when he died.  
Lay covers his ears as Luhan begins to cry out in pain. Lay couldn’t bear to listen to Luhan’s pain. He focuses as hard as he can and sends a bit of healing power towards the human boy who was crying. Lay falls asleep with his hands over his ears.  
He wakes up to the stall door slamming open. A new man hurries in and shuts it quickly behind him. Lay stares at him with wide eyes as the man crouches down by Lay’s side.  
“Be quiet, I don’t want my father to find me,” the man orders, putting a finger over his lips. Lay doesn’t reply, but he jumps when another door slams open. The man next to him swears, then chants something under his breath. He disappears from sight just as the stall door slams open, causing Lay to jump and scramble away. The wizard stomps in and glares around. When he doesn’t see what he’s looking for, he smiles slowly at Lay.  
“Has anyone come in to visit you, little Lay?” he asks. Lay just stares at him blankly. He could not tell a lie, but he didn’t want anyone to go through the same thing he just heard Luhan experience. His lack of an answer angers the wizard though, and he grabs Lay by the hair and throws him into the wall. Lay whimpers in pain as he curls up to try and protect himself. But Master Kim grabs his throat and yanks him up. Lay’s eyes fill with tears again as he chokes and wraps his weak hands around the thick arm.  
“I know you can talk,” Master Kim growls, throwing Lay to the ground. Lay hits his head so hard that he sees dark spots. “So tell me, have you seen anybody or not.”  
Lay whimpers, his eyes full of tears. He couldn’t force his mouth to form the words, they felt too awkward. He settles for nodding a bit.  
“Who?!” Master Kim kicks him in the stomach and Lay heaves.  
“L—” Lay tries. “L-Lu—”  
“Spit it out, you stupid animal!” Master Kim demands.  
“L-Lu-Lu-Luhan,” Lay stutters. The name was heavy and sounded horribly accented. It isn’t a lie, technically. But something told him to not mention the other boy.  
“Did he get caught?”  
Lay nods.  
“M-man… hurt…” Lay attempts to say, but Master Kim rolls his eyes.  
“He was punished,” the man waves a hand, then smirks. “Let’s play a game, Lay.” Lay shakes his head frantically. He doesn’t even want to be near the wizard. But the wizard refuses to take no for an answer. “We’re going to play a game anyway. It’s called: how loud can a unicorn scream.”  
Master Kim drags Lay out of the stall and into what looks like a supply room. Lay is shoved to his knees and one of Lay’s thin, human wrists is tied down to the ground. Master Kim searches the room for something while Lay struggles weakly against the binding. The short walk made him feel incredibly weak so he didn’t have much strength to fight. That is, until the wizard comes back over with a large, iridescent knife. Lay whimpers and tugs harder against the binding. The man grinds his teeth, then unties Lay’s wrist and trades it for his ankle. He ties Lay’s hands behind his back, then uses the knife to flick up the clothing that covered his leg.  
“Are you ready, my little unicorn?” the man questions, placing the blade of the knife on Lay’s bare, pale skin. Lay’s eyes widen and he shakes his head frantically until the blade digs into his human leg. He cries out in surprise, then continues to sob and scream as the man pulls the skin slowly off of Lay’s leg. His voice is raw by the time the man stops and cuts the strip of skin off. The man dangles it before Lay’s face, even going as far to shove the bloody skin into Lay’s face. Lay was crying too hard to heal himself.  
“Do you know what meal they’re going to make with this?” Lay whimpers. “They’re going to make fried vegetable wraps.”  
Lay isn't entirely sure what that means but it still makes him feel extremely ill. His stomach clenches, wanting to expel its contents. But there is nothing to expel. He dry-heaves several times before his leg starts to heal. His blood keeps running down his leg as the skin grows around his flayed flesh in patches. After a few moments his skin is completely restored.  
And then the wizard digs the knife into his flesh again.  
Lay's tears are all dried up by the time the wizard dumps him back in the stall. Both of his legs are covered with drying blood and his voice is practically gone from screaming. The wizard, once he finished his torture, had made Lay scrub his own blood from the ground. Lay feels so incredibly weak and dizzy. The wizard leaves him crumpled on the straw. The unicorn curls up on himself, pressing his aching stomach.  
“Are you alright?” somebody asks. Lay jerks up to stare at the human man inside his cell. The sides of his mouth reminded Lay of a cat. He had been in the cell before the wizard came to torture Lay.  
“Wh-who are y-you?” Lay chokes out.  
“I'm Chen,” the man replies. “You're Lay. Now that our names are established, are you hungry? You aren't supposed to be allowed to eat yet but it seems too cruel to allow you to starve. I can't stop the wizard from hurting you; my magic isn't that strong. But I can bring food. Fruits and veggies; nothing with meat or animal products. What would you like?”  
Lay stares at the man. He is confused. Humans were wicked and blindly obedient creatures. Why did this man do something clearly against the order of a superior?  
“Should I just bring a few apples or something?” Chen wonders.  
“Did you eat my flesh?” Lay finally asks bluntly. “Did you eat my sister?”  
“Your sister?” Chen’s eyes are wide. “The other unicorn was your sister?”  
“We--we're all related. We came from the same. She was my sister.”  
“Well, no. I didn't eat her. I didn't have any of the blood soup they make every winter. I hate eating meat; it makes me ill to think of what they went through before their deaths.”  
Lay is so confused. But hesitantly, he asks for an apple. Chen disappears and comes back with the shiny green fruit in one hand and a steaming cloth in the other. Lay eats the apple with vigor while Chen bends down to wipe the dried blood off of Lay's legs. It feels nice but Lay doesn't dare let his guard down.  
“Come here,” Chen orders when Lay's legs are clean. Lay shrinks back in fear. Chen apologizes before telling him he is only going to clean his face and hands. Lay allows it. When Chen finishes, he takes the apple core and gives it to the horse in the next stall. She munches on it happily, whining a happy thank you. Lay understands, although Chen clearly does not, as he hushes her.  
Every night the wizard tortures Lay, and every night, Lay is cared for by Chen. Sometimes, Chen stays to talk. Lay likes when Chen stays to talk. It makes him feel safe. But Chen always has to leave before the sun rises.  
“Why do you always have to leave?”  
Chen pauses in his work of cleaning Lay's hands. The wizard had ripped all of Lay's nails out and had collected the blood that pooled from them. He had said something about making a blood tea, but Lay hadn't been paying much attention. He had been too busy crying and begging for the man to stop.  
“My father wouldn't like that I'm caring for you,” Chen replies slowly. “He would probably have me beaten or he would place a curse on me so I wouldn't even be able to come near you. But nobody else is allowed to help you. You would die of starvation or dehydration.”  
“How can a father beat his own son?”  
“How can a man torture someone as the wizard does to you?” Chen sighs. “He is evil. A wicked man consumed by dark magic. I'm not going to be like him once I master my powers. I want to be like you.”  
“Like me?” Lay questions skeptically. How could a human try to be like a unicorn? Chen nods.  
“You're so pure and good. That's how I want to be.”  
Chen was the purest soul Lay had met.  
Its when the wizard starts cutting off Lay's limbs that Chen suggests running away.  
“You don't belong here, little Lay.” Chen mumbles as he cleans Lay of his sweat. “You belong in the woods, protecting the forest life and living.”  
“What would happen to you?” Lay asks softly. “They would find out you're helping me.”  
“It doesn't matter what happens to me,” Chen answers firmly. “You cannot stay here.”  
“You could come with me,” Lay suggests. Chen looks unsure.  
“And leave my family and friends? What if a wolf eats me or something? What if the forest creatures hate me and in turn hate you?”  
“Would your friends help you if your father were to beat you?”  
Chen thinks about this, before his face falls. He shakes his head.  
“My father wouldn't miss me either…” Chen mumbles. “He blames me for my mother's death.” Chen looks up. “I don't know if you'd want me to stay by your side if you knew who my father was though.  
“That's not for you to decide. Tell me.”  
For the first time, Chen breaks down in tears, apologize slipping from his mouth. Lay is shocked, but he holds Chen close and wipes away his tears as Chen tells who his father is. The wizard.  
“I'm sorry,” Chen sobs. “You hate me now don't you? I'm so sorr--”  
He is cut off when Lay presses his lips to Chen’s. The kiss is sweet and gentle. Lay pulls away after a few moments.  
“I could never hate you,” Lay murmurs softly, petting Chen’s hair. “I'm too in love with you. You are not your father. You are kind, gentle, loving, caring, and I love you more than the sun loves the moon.”  
“How can the sun love the moon?” Chen asks in a small voice. “Are they not from two different worlds?”  
“The sun and the moon exist in the same sky constantly; the sun wants to share his moon with the world, so he shines on her every night so that we can see her. Even if it means putting himself to the side.”  
They make plans to escape. Chen comes in a few days later and sneaks Lay out of the stall. He had a weak cloaking spell covering them, which Lay strengthens using his own magic. They are halfway there when Chen stiffens.  
“Chen?” Lay asks while touching Chen’s shoulder, then screams when his hand comes away bloody. Chen collapses and with him, the cloak. They are surrounded by soldiers in seconds. Chen is breathing sporadically. Lay tries to heal him but he finds that his magic will not work. The wizard steps out before them, coming to stand over his son's fallen form and Lay’s crouched body.  
“I wouldn't bother,” the wizard drones. “The dark magic that the arrow was made off is already settling in him. No matter what you do, even as a unicorn, he will die.”  
“You monster,” Lay whispers, tears streaming in silent rivulets. The wizard touches Lay's shoulder, presumably to drag him away from his son's dying body. But as soon as his hand touches Lay, Lay breaks. His face shoots up.  
“YOU MONSTER!” Lay screams, and with his scream, light erupts from his body. The wizard shields himself from it, backing away. His body starts to dissolve away; the dark in him is no match for Lay's light.  
Lay sets a circle of safety around him and his fallen lover.  
“Chen, don't leave me,” Lay whispers, ignoring the banging of soldiers on the circles borders. Lay is weak from his attack on the wizard; if the wizard was not dead, he could easily break through. But Lay doesn't think of that.  
“Chen?” Lay whispers, holding Chen in his arms. Chen’s breathing becomes slower as he dies. Lay tries desperately to heal him to no avail.  
“Little Lay,” Chen whispers back. “You have to go on without me.”  
“Never. If you die, I won't be able to live.”  
“Live on, for my sake. I love you as much as the sun loves the moon.”  
Chen’s trembling arm reaches up to wipe away Lay's tears, before it falls. His eyes close. Lay screams in pain. All the times the wizard had tortured him all merged together couldn't compare to this. He looks up as the clouds cover the moon.  
“Don't take him from me!” he screams in desperation. “Let him live!”  
He bends over Chen’s body and hugs him close, rocking back and forth, begging for the moon to save him. He begs and begs until his tears have wet Chen’s shirt from where they dripped. The dawn peaks over the trees by the time Lay finally runs out of strength. The circle disperses. But the soldiers cannot come.  
“My child,” a feminine voice makes Lay raise his head. Hair pale as the stars and skin as dark as the night catch his attention before his gaze takes in the silvery dress that adorned her body. A man with hair as yellow as the sun and eyes as blue as the sky stood beside her. He bows to them, the sun and the moon.  
“Please,” he begs, glancing at Chen. “You understand the love I have for him. Please, don't let him be taken from me.”  
“For the world to be balanced, something has to give,” the sun affirms. “Do you understand, my child.”  
Lay nods immediately. He would gladly give his immortality to allow Lay to live.  
“My dear, there is another way to retain balance,” the moon says softly, then whispers something in her lover's ear. The sun smiles adoringly at her before coming to take Chen from Lay's arms. The moon helps Lay to rise and within mere moments, they are within the forest Lay had missed so much. The moon places a hand on Lay's forehead while the sun does the same to Chen. Lay understands then.  
He would give all of his healing abilities to heal Chen and grant him immortality.  
Chen wakes up with a start hours later. The sun and moon had already gone back to their positions in the sky. When Lay explains what had happened, Chen is silent for a few moments before he wrapped his arms around Lay's shoulders and kisses him.  
They rule the forest together even today, and love each other just as much as they did the day that the sun and moon granted Chen and Lay their eternity together.


End file.
